God Bless America

Yes.  This is the song we sing to put Emerson to sleep.  Those of you that know me are saying "that's about right".  For those of you that don't, we landed on this after many rounds of your more typical nursery songs in our attempt to comfort E while she was sick.  This one worked, so this one stuck.  Just to prove the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I was sung The Battle Hymn of the Republic and can still recite it to this day.  Thanks, dad :)

So needless to say July 4th is one of my favorite holidays.  (Yes, I am aware that it is the 17th but that's just how things are this month.) We usually spend the week at the beach with my family to celebrate.  We were so excited to get E down there and she did not let us down.  She loved the water, the sand, and the pool.  So much so that I need to invest in some baby swim classes.  This girl has no fear.

So what happens when you combine my favorite time of year, favorite holiday, and favorite people? Cue picture overload.

Pure joy.

finding shells with Pop

Showing us the birds

Whole fist...yes please.

love this man.

She just realized she's stuck with us

Love those big brown eyes

You can't tell here but she was a big fan of the fireworks

lovin her Aunt C

catch me if you can

Waving at the boats with Lolli

Hey You!

Her favorite way to eat...one foot up? always.

Go West Young Man

Waiting at our first layover

 The midwest that is.  I wanted to share a couple pictures from our Iowa trip.  Emerson had so much fun playing with cousins and getting to be up close and personal with all the animals she has seen in her books.  She is definitely a fan of the air.  She would rather travel the skies than the highway any day. She did so much better than I could have even asked for.  I had all these tricks in my carry on but she was most fascinated with the air vents, the windows, and the man's hair in front of us. Yeah, sorry bout that.

and out...within seconds of arriving in Iowa

Cousins with grandma and grandpa Yoder

Little Bunny Fufu 

She reached down and picked this one up by the ears

Watching the cows

Playing some dominos with grandpa Hostetler

A sweet family member brought us one of her sons outfits...add and bow and its a romper :)

Bird watching with Hudson

Uncle Perry's Farm

Hello Charleston...

Come Hell or High Water

Well on a positive note we got the latter. I have many irrational fears. Water has never been one of them. Notice the past tense. This post was going to be titled "A Lesson in Minimalism". That was before our adventures in the lagoon. That post was going to recap our travels to Iowa complete with missed connections, extended stays on the runway and 3 days with no luggage. And believe it or not an actually really good trip despite the hang ups. It was going to talk about all the preparations this type a momma had done to brave the skies with her little one and how in the end not one crazy target run proved to do any good as our bags flew around the Midwest. My mom used to always talk about "teachable moments". I believe in teachable seasons. Really I believe that we are always being taught,stretched,refined. I just think sometimes it comes as an intensive course. Sometimes it's crunch time. On the way home from the trip Chris and I were laughing about how crazy it had been. How little we actually need and how it kinda felt good to not have all the "extra baggage". Little did we know what awaited us at home. We arrived home at 11pm to the sound of rushing water. It's one of those sounds that you recognize in an instant. Especially when it's coming from inside the walls. I would be lying if I said I was not horrified when I walked through the door. Within minutes of standing there dumbfounded I was soaking wet. After rushing e up to bed we immediatedly started dragging what we could outside. For some context, we have been in the basement apartment of Chris parents house while we are building. We have all of our stuff concentrated in 2 rooms. Yes we have furniture in storage but being the sentimental one that I am I had kept all the photos,wedding stuff, etc with us so it would be "safe". Oh the things we think we can control. As I layed out pages of letters, pictures, e's toys and clothes I found myself audibly repeating "it's not a fire." If it was a fire I could not even be hoping these would dry out. We are safe. We are healthy. God is good. Now if you know me you probably wouldn't classify me as an optimist. And you'd be right. I like to call it realist. Not always what I want but probably the most accurate description. I often get caught up on the little things that don't seem to be going just as I think they should. Sometimes it takes a big thing to shed some perspective. I am stubborn. Apparently I don't respond to subtle hints. Sometimes the status quo has to be shaken to the point where i have no choice but to admit that I can't do it. That I can't hold it all together. And that I don't have control. Yes being nomadic with a one year old for the next month as the space is rebuilt is less than ideal. Yes we lost some things that were special. But I am thankful the Lord is working on me. I am thankful I am loved by a God who answers prayer. Prayers for patience, for strength, for growth. Even when those answers come through pain.